Method of raising sunken vessels



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

WILLIAM IRWIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA..

METHOD 0F RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 8,336, dated September 2, 1851.

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM IRWIN, of

Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Mode for Raising Sunken Vessels, forSupporting Vessels Off Shore and Over Banks, Reefs, Bars, Shoals, &c.,and when in a Sinking Condition; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description of the construction andoperation of the same, reference being had to t-he accompanying drawingsand to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which the lettershave reference to like parts.

Figure l is a perpendicular view of the deck of a sunken vessel, witht-he chain of receivers, in readiness to be sunk and drawn around thevessel, and secured by the purchase, and wedge. Fig. 2 represents aperpendicular view of the deck of a vessel, with the attachmentsperfected, and the receivers inflated. Fig. 3 is a section of thepurchase block, exhibiting the action of the wedge on vthe halyards inperfecting the jamb, or arrest, at the point of co-ntact. Fig. 4represents a longitudinal section or side of a sunken vessel with theattachments perfected and receivers inflated.

K, K are the receivers by the inflation of which, the lifting power isgiven to the machine, I, I, hose connecting the receivers, L, L, chainsto 'which the receivers are attached, G, G, purchase blocks fastened tothe chains, D, D purchase halyards, P chain part of purchase halyards, Fwedge, E, E wedge halyards, c, c, c, c guys, o, 0, 0, o buoys, N, N, N,N anchors, M sunken vessel, S sheave of purchase block, A, A wedgehalyards sheaves, R jam roller.

The following is a description of the construction of the machine, andits mode of application in raising or supporting a vessel.

M, Fig. 1, is a sunken vessel. I ascertain her dimensions by soundings,or otherwise, and also her probable weight, procure a chain, or chainsL, L, and affix to them at the proper distance, heavy purchase blocks G,G, so that when they are brought together and sunk to the bottom aroundthe vessel with the machinery and secured by the wedge F,- they mayarise around the vessel below or about her bearings as seen in Fig. 4,and by the action of inflation will cause the vessel to rise to thesurface receivers of the proper capacity of lifting cured to the chains,in numbers as may be required guys c, c, c, c would be useful inattaching and detaching the machinery, though would not at all times beneeded, the hose I in Figs. l, 2, and 4, connect the receivers bycouplings, the purchase blocks should be very strong and heavy with ironstraps and sheaves, in the heel of one of which and opposite the lastsheave S Fig. 3, through which the part of the halyards run that thepower is applied to from the surface, is a jam roller R, so that thewedge F, by being brought by its halyards in the direction F, S, A,catches and is pressed between the links of the chain part of the purchase P and the roller R and e'ectually secures the purchase fromslipping, by the reaction of the purchase in the direction F S A causedby the lifting power of the receivers in the course of inflation.

Fig. 5 represents a section of the purchase block, exposing the purchasesheaves S, the jam roller R and the two wedge halyard sheaves, orwheels, A, A, under and over which the wedge halyards are guided inbringing the wedge between the roller R, and

`purchase sheaves S, so as to jam, and prevent the further slipping, orreaction, of the purchase halyards at the point of pressure S, and R, asshown in Fig. 3.

The wedge F I construct of rope plaited or twisted in the shape of amarlin spike, the roller R of iron and without a groove, the wedgehalyards E E may be made light and also their sheaves A A as not muchstrain may be expected. It would be necessary to have one o-r more heavypurchases, blocks, &c., and a proper number of receivers, always inreadiness to suit any emergency, chains, cordage, anchors, Sac., arealways easily to be got, wherever vessels may be found. In the figures Ihave shown a single line of receivers or one attachment, as at l, 2 and4. I do not lconfn myself to numbers, but use them in num er and poweraccording to the necessity of the case, in most cases the machine may bedrifted around a sunken vessel, partially inflated, purchase and wedgehalyards roved, sunk by exhaustion, and the weight 0f the chains, or bythe assistance of guys, anchors, and buoys,

as seen in Fig. l, assisted by vessels or boats, but a great dealdepends upon tide, wind, depth, and roughness of water, or othercircumstances whichare various, and known to nautical men; the object isto get the machinery around the vessel and secured as seen in Figs. 2and l by which she will rest in its encircling embrace in a longitudinalmanner and on a plane with the deck, the machinery being kept in placeby their upward lift-ing force caused by the displacement, or action ofthe water uponvthe inflated receivers, and the greater the power thegreater will be the upward tendency and embrace of the Wedge like formof the veS- sel from its narrower to its broader parts or bearings. Theattachments are understood to be the proper drawing together of the endsof the machinery at the blocks G, Gr, by the halyards D D P, and beingsecured by the Wedge F, a vessel being sunk as at M Fig. l the wind,drift, or set of the tide being such that it might be proper to adoptthe following plan of placing the apparatus or machinery around her. Herweight and dimensions being determined, I select a chain of the properstrength and weight L L, I place the purchase blocks Gr, Gr on thechains shorter than the horizontal girth amidships, so that the purchasemay be drawn suiiiciently taut, without coming block and block whenhauling the machine to the desired place upon the vessel, in order to besecured by the wedge as seen at G G F Fig. 4f I then attach to the chainfour receivers K K K K, couple together by the hose I, I, I and the hoseH which leads to the surface for operations by the force and exhaustpump. I place four guys C, C, C, C on the chain to assist in getting themachine in position, the anchors placed and buoyed as at N, N, N, N O,O, O, O. All being ready, I partially inflate the receivers, and dropthem ahead and across the bow N I N being considered the most favorableosition. I allow the purchase block ends (El G, t-o drift toward thestern of the vessel, "and on a line nearly parallel with the sides ofthe vessel as seen at K K K'K in Fig. l. I then reeve the purchasehalyards, and wedge halyards, sink the machine around and clear of thevessel, by the exhaustion of the receivers, and the weight of thechains. I then draw upon the purchase and secure it by the wedge at thepoint where I wish the ymachine to rise upon the sides of the vessel ator below the point of her beaming,

when the iniiation is performed through the hose H from the engine atthe surface.

In cases of accident, or should it be found the lifting power notsufficient, another attachment must be perfected similar to the iirst,in order to place onv more receivers. To perfect this the receivers mustbe eX- hausted, and the purchase hauled upon, by which the wedge F willbe brought out of the sheave in the direction A, S, F, E Fig. 3,

and can be brought away by its halyards rl g E, E. The purchase blocksG, Gr can then be hauled asunder by the guys 0, c, as seen in Fig. 1.The whole can then be raised by inflation, and drawn ahead and out ofreach of the vessel in the direction I. In supporting vessels and forlifting ofi' shore, and over bars, reefs, shoals banks, &c., themachinery can be placed and secured from the decks of the vessel, sunkby exhaustion to the proper depth by assistance of guys o', c, c, c, &c.

I claim- The combination of the inflatable air receiver, purchase,roller, and wedge or their equivalents, as herein described, for thepurpose of raising and supporting vessels.

WM. IRWIN.

Witnesses present- CHAs. WATKIN, PETER Y. WEAVER.

